Sewing machine for comfortables and similar articles



J. L. MILLER SEWING MACHINE FOR COMFORTABLES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES 3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed June 22, 1932 INVENT OR BY 7 ATTO EYS J. L. MILLER April 16, 1935..

SEWING MACHINE FOR COMFORTABLES AND SIMILAR A RTICLES Filed June 22, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 J. L. MILLER 11,997,??9

SEWING MACHINE FOR COMFORTABLES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES April 16, 1935.

Filed June 22, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 R O T N E v m Patented Apr. 16, 1935 PATENT OFFICE SEWZING MACHINE. FOR. COMFORTABLES' AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Judson L. Miller, New York, N. Y.

Application June; 22., 1932', Serial No. 618,690 9 Claims. (o1'.,112.--117) This invention relates to. sewing machines and more particularly to sewing machines for sew:- ingcomfortables, quilts and similar articles. Certain features of the invention however are not 5. limited: to machines for sewing this particular kindoi worli. but may be embodied in machines for sewing work of other kinds.

As is. well known to those skilled in the art, oomfortables. and quilts and other bed coverings of thisgeneral character, each usually comprises one or more: layersof woven fabric on each side thereof'forniing'cevers, and a relatively thick 1ay er of cotton, wool or other padding material located between said covers- It has been common practice to. stitch one or more seams each in an ornamental design through the fabric covers and the padding material to hold. the padding material in place between the said covers], These ornamental seams add greatly to the attractive appearance of the comfortable or quilt.

lin sewing such-seamsby hand, it has been quite general practice tosew each seam in anundulatoryor wavelike form. That is, the seam, while following a certain pattern, has relatively short undulations or waves extending in directions transverse to the general line of the seam. This. wavelike formation of the seams renders the design much more ornamental and attractive in appearance. As far as applicant is aware, no machine has been produced upon which seams having such undulations or waves can be sewn. The sewing of seams'of' this character by' handis. expensive and adds considerably to the cost of the comfortable or quilt.

The primary objector the present invention is to. produce a machine by whi h a seam may be sewn in any desired formation or design, and at the same time,.theseam may be formed with undulations or waves. extending in directions transverse to; thegeneral line of'the seam.

Another object of the invention is. to. produce a machineadapted to. sew a seam in an undulatory or wavelike formation in which the form. of the undulations or wavesmay be. readily varied.

With; the above and other objects in View; the. invention. consists in a. sewing machine embody ing the novel and improved features hereinafter described and particularly pointed. out in the claims.

One feature of the invention consists in the provision of means for: relatively vibrating the sewing, mechanism and the work in directions transverse to the general line of feed.

Another feature of the invention consists in the provision of mechanisms respectively for relalively vibrating the work and the: sewing mechanismin two different, directions transverse to each other. These mechanisms: are preferably arranged, so that they may be thrown intoand out Qfi operatio alternatively. In the form of the invention shown, these mechanisms are constructed so that they may be thrown into and out of operation alternatively and that they may both be thrown into. operation at the same time. Vifhen both mechanismsare-in operation, a compound relative movement is imparted to. the work and the sewing mechanism, the nature of which will: de pend onthe timed relation of the two mechanisms. Either one or both mechanisms may be provided with means by which the timed relations of the two mechanisms maybe adjusted. One or both of said mechanisms alsomay' have provisions for adjustment to adjust the amplitude of the relative vibrating movement.

The above and other features of the invention will be clearly understood from theaccompanying drawings illustrating the invention in its preferred form and the following detailed description of the constructions. therein shown. It is to be understood however that the invention is. not limited to the particular'machine or to the particular construction and. arrangement of parts of the illustrated embodiment ofthe invention, but that the construction shown is merely illustrative of the invention and that the invention may be; embodied in'many other: forms. within the scope of the claims. 3

In the drawings Fig. 1k is a view: side elevation of a machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2: is. a view'in front elevation of the. machine;

Fig. 3- is a. sectional vievw of the; machine. taken substantially on the; line 35-3. of Figs 1;

Fig. 4 is a. detaik illustrating: a guide construction. for one. of the. work: carrying tables or frames and Figs. 5, 6; and? 7 are detail views illustrating seam formations: which maybe sewn on the machine.

In the form of the. invention illustrated in the drawings of this application. the machine. is provided with a sewing mechanism of asuitable type for sewing comfortables; and quilts. The sewing. .mechanism. comprises. a. head indicated at E upon which are mounted the needle and presser foot mechanisms. This head is secured upon a hollow rod or bar 4 extending laterally of the machine. The sewing machine also comprises the underframe fiupon, which are mounted the devices arranged to operate below the work and co-operating with the needle in the formation of the stitches. This underframe. is mounted upon a hollow.- supporting rod or bar indicated at 8. extending laterally of the machine substantially parallel with the rod. 4.

The quilt or comfortable is supported upon an upper carriage indicated as a whole at Ill; This carriage is provided with. a. lower. framework l2:

to which are secured uprights I4. To the upper ends of these uprights are attached the laterally extending bars I6 and to these bars are attached the ends of the clamp-carrying bars I8. Upon the bars I8 are mounted the clamps 20 within which are inserted the margins of the quilt or comfortable to support the same in sewing position. V

The carriage I0 is mounted so that it may move freely laterally and forwardly and rearwardly in a horizontal plane to cause the stitchforming mechanism to sew along any given pattern on a quilt or comfortable held in the workholding clamps 20. The carriage I0 is also mounted so that it may be vibrated forwardly and rearwardly and/or laterally to cause the stitch-forming mechanism to follow an undulatory or wavelike path in sewing the seam.

The carriage I0 is mounted for lateral vibrating movement upon rails 22 and to this end is provided with guide members 24 of T-shaped cross section secured to the underside thereof and engaging respectively in laterally extending grooved tracks 26 secured respectively to the upper sides of the rails 22. The rails 22 in turn are mounted for forward and rearward vibrating movement upon a second carriage 28. To this end the rails 22 are each provided with guide members 30 also T-shaped in cross section and respectively located adjacent the ends of the rail which engage in grooves in forwardly and rearwardly extending track members 32 secured to the upper side of the carriage 28. The downwardly projecting rib on each of the guide members 30 is preferably provided with recesses 34 and anti-friction rolls 36 are interposed between said guide member and the corresponding track 32, these rolls engaging in the recesses 34k as shown in Fig. 4.

The carriage 28 is mounted so that it may be moved freely forwardly, rearwardly and laterally in a horizontal plane so that the required movements may be imparted to the comfortable in sewing any desired pattern upon the same. As shown in the drawings, the carriage 28 is provided with wheels 38 respectively mounted upon wheel-carrying brackets 40 secured to the underside of the carriage, and these wheels engage tracks 42 secured to the upper side of a third carriage 44 and extending laterally of the machine. The carriage 44 is provided with wheels 46 mounted upon wheel-brackets 48 secured to the underside of the carriage and these wheels engage tracks 50 supported upon any suitable stationary foundation and extending forwardly and rearwardly of the machine.

In order to enable the operator to move the carriage 28 in any desired direction in a horizontal plane during the sewing operation, the carriage is provided with a hand rod 52 mounted upon bars 54 extending obliquely upwardly from the side of the carriage. This hand rod is arranged to be grasped by the operator and the carriage is moved forwardly and rearwardly and laterally in the desired directions by the manipulation of this hand rod. The movements thus imparted to the carriage by the operator feed the work past the stitch-forming mechanism and move the work to cause the seam to be sewn in the desired pattern.

In the present construction a pattern plate 56 is mounted upon the upper side of the carriage 28. This pattern plate is formed with guide grooves 58 in which is engaged a guide roller 60 carried at the lower end of a rod 62 mounted to slide vertically in suitable guides in a depending portion of the underframe 6 of the sewing mechanism. The engagement of the guide roller 60 with one of the guide grooves 58 determines the pattern followed by the sewing mechanism with relation to the work in sewing a seam. The carriage 28 is moved forwardly and rearwardly and laterally to carry the guide roll 60 through the various portions of the guide groove in which it engages by the manipulation of the hand rod 52, and the movement of the carriage, of course, imparts corresponding movements to the work held in the work-holding clamps.

The mechanism for imparting forward and rearward vibrating movements to the carriage I0 during the sewing operation comprises a shaft 64 mounted in suitable bearings 66 on the carriage 28. Upon the ends of this shaft are mounted crank disks 68 each carrying a crank I0 connected by a pitman I2 with one end of the forward rail 22 which carries the forward track 26. Each of the cranks I0 is adjustable toward and from the axis of the shaft 64 to adjust the amplitude of the vibratory movements imparted to the carriage I0. To this end each crank is adjustably mounted in a diametrical groove I4 formed in the corresponding crank disk (see Fig. l). The mechanism for driving shaft 64 comprises a gear I6 fixed to the shaft and meshing with a gear I8 loosely mounted upon a counter shaft which is arranged to rotate in bearings 82 carried by the carriage 28. Fixed to the gear I8 is a clutch member or sleeve 84 having a clutch recess in which engages a correspondingly-shaped tooth or projection formed on the clutch member 86 mounted on the shaft 80 to rotate with the shaft, but slidable on the shaft, to carry the same into and out of engagement with the clutch member 84. To the shaft 80 is secured a pulley 88 which is connected by a belt 90 with a pulley 92 secured to one end of the armature shaft of an electric motor 94.

The engagement of the clutch member 86 with the clutch member 84 is controlled by a lever 96 pivoted at 98 on the carriage 28 and carrying at its free end pins or rolls engaging in a groove in the clutch member 86. Electrically operated mechanism controlled by the operator is preferably employed for shifting the lever 96 in both directions to engage and disengage the clutch members. The lever is shifted in a direction to engage the clutch members by means of a solenoid I00, the core of which is connected by a link I02 with the lever. The lever is shifted in a direction to disengage the clutch members by means of a solenoid I04, the core of which is connected by a link I06 with the lever.

The mechanism for imparting lateral vibrating movements to the carriage I0 comprises a shaft I08 mounted in bearings IIO carried by the carriage 28. Upon the ends of this shaft are mounted crank disks H2 each carrying a crank I I4 which is connected by a pitman I I6 with the carriage I0. Each of the cranks H4 is mounted on the corresponding crank disk for adjustment toward and from the axis of the shaft I08, each crank disk having a diametrical groove H8 (see Fig. 2) in which the corresponding crank is adjustably mounted.

The mechanism for driving the shaft I08 comprises a bevel gear I 20 fixed to the shaft, and a bevel gear I22 loosely mounted on the countershaft 80 and meshing with said gear I20. To the gear I22 is fixed a clutch member I24 having an neonate angular clutch recess inwhich engages acorrespondi-ngl'y shaped tootl r formed on. aclirtchmember I 26 mounted on the shaft. 80i for rotary movement with the shaft but. movable longitudinally of the shaft to: carryrthe. same-into and out of engagement with the clutch member BM. The position of the cl-utchrmember I26. on the. shafit is controlled: by a shitting lever I128. pivoted at I'3I1 on the carriage Z8 and; carrying at: its. free end rolls. or pins engaging in a groove in the clutch member I226.

Electrically actuated mechanism controlled by the operator isalsojprovided for moving the-lever I=28 to carry the clutch. member I 2?. into and. out of: engagement with the clutch member: I'M- The lever lZBl is moved in a. direction to carry the clutch member I215 into. engagement with) the clutch member I24; by: means: ofla. solenoid I 32 connected by; a link" I34 with the: lever I128. The lever I 28 is moved'in adircctionto disengage the clutch: member I Z'Ei; from the clutclr member I12 by means. of a solenoid. $36 connected by a link I 3 8. with. the. lever I281 The electricali circuits for the. motor: 94: and for the solenoids. H10; I'M, 32. and: r36: are; shown diagrammatically in Fig. 3%. circuit for the motor Micomprises: a: conductor I;40.= connecting the motor with one or" the main circuit terminals I242 a. conductor I44: connecting the motor with. one of. the terminals of a. switch M6 for openingxand closing the motor circuit- The other terminal of this switch isconnectedi by a. conductor Hill with the; main circuit terminal; lam. The solenoid. lllllliis connected by: a conductor i526 with one of thezterminalslof a switch I 54? the: other a; switch. I 12; the: other. ternnnazli of which-is connected with the conductor: I158; The solenoid: I132 is also connected by a conductor I:'|.6witlr.the:con-. ducto-r I411. The solenoid I3.6, conne cted. bya conductor Hi8. with. one: of the: temninalsof. a switch I8fl,. the other terminak or which is con;- nectedwith the conductor I58; Thesolenoidlzilfi is also connected by a: conductor: with the conductor Hill; i

I The switches: I543; 64,. H2; and. preferably of the. push button. type; and are: also. preferably mounted on; the handrod- 52 by whilch the: carriage. 2'8: ismovedi by the: operator; By the actuation: of certain of these switches the mechanism for. imparting; forward. and rearward. vibrating movements to. the carriage 28: and the mechanism for impartinglateral vibrating move ments to. said carriage may be thrown into and out of operation alternatively,. or both:- mechamay be thno-wrr'into: or: out of operation; at the same time. Thus: when the guide roll 60% is engaged in a portion of one of the grooves 5 8, the direction of which mainly forward and rearward of the machine, the mechanism for imparting the lateral vibrating movements to the car'- riage 28 may be thrown into-operation by the actuation of the switch I l-2. When the roll arrives at a portion of the groove the direction of which is mainly transverse to the machine, the mechanism for imparting the lateral vibrating movements. may be. thrown out of: operation by actuation of the. push button Ida and; the mechanism for imparting. the forward and rearward. vibrating movements may be thrown. into opera-tion: by" theactuation of the push button I354: When-:the roll 60 again arrives at a. portion of thegroovethe direction of which ismainly forward and rearward of the machine, the mechanism for imparting: forward and rearward vibrating movements may be thrown out of operation; by the actuation of the. switch. Iz'di and the mechanism for imparting the lateral: vibrating movements: may be again thrown into operation by the actuation of. the switch til.

When it is desired to throw both the mechanisnr for imparting the lateral vibrating move.- inentszand the mechanism for imparting the forward and rearward vibrating movements to the carriage til; into. operation at the same time, this may be done by closing both the switches I12 and. I54. When both these mechanisms. are: in operation, compound relative movements will be imparted to the carriage 28:. The paths. of' these movements will depend upon the timed. relation of the two mechanisms.

It will be noted from an inspection of Fig. 3 that each of the clutch members and I261 is provided with a single projection or tooth and that the respective co-operating clutch members 8% and"v I 2'4 are each provided with a single. recess for receiving the said projection. Thus when both the clutches are engaged the mechanism for imparting the forward and: rearward vibrating movements tothe carriage and the mechanism for imparting the lateral vibrati'ng movements to said carriage will operate in definite timed relation to each other. Provision is made for adjusting this timed relation of the two mechanisms. To this end eaclr of the crank disks E3 is mounted upona sleeve P81 engaging inand projecting through the bearing 65. This sleeve is'secured' to the shaftfilby means of a setscrew i85 By loosening these set screws each ofthe crank disks 68 may be adjusted about the axis of the shaft 64. A similar construction. if desired, may be provided for connecting each 01% the crank disks I IZWith the shaft I 08;

In order toaccommodate the forward and rearward vibrating -movements of the carriage I 0 each of the pi tmen I I5 is connected somewhat loosely tothe crank m4: at its lower end and its upperend is connected somewhat loosely to a bolt or pin I88 secured in the carriage. Coiled springs I96 are interposed respectively between the pitman and the headof the pin and between the pitman and the carriage to maintain the pitman normally in an intermediate position 1ongitudinally of the projecting portion of the pin. This construction however allows the pin to move through the hole in the pitman during the forward and rearward reciprocating movements of the carriage HT. A similar construction, if desired, may be provided for connecting the respective pitmen "I2 with the cranks l0 and with the forward rail 22-. v

It is to be noted that'the switch M6- controls both the circuit for'the motor 94 and the circuits for the solenoids I00, I 54, I32 and I36. Thus whenthe switch I46 is open, the motor isout of operation and none of the solenoids can be acmated to shift the movable members of the clutches which control the-vibrating movements.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 show seams which may be sewn upon the present machine. Figure 5 shows seams I92 and I94 in which the vibrating mechanisms give a simple wavelike form to the seam. Figure 6 shows seams I96 and I98 also having a simple wavelike form, difiering from those shown in Figure 5 in the height and pitch of the waves. Figure 7 shows seams 200 and 202 in which a series of loops have been formed in each seam by the action of the vibrating mechanisms.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to machines of the particular type shown in the drawings of this application or to the particular construction and arrangement of parts of this machine, but that the invention may be embodied in other types of machines and in other forms within the scope of the claims.

Having explained the nature and object of the invention and having specifically described a machine embodying the invention in its preferred form, what is claimed is:

1. A sewing machine having in combination, a work carrier, means for supporting the carrier for movement in any direction in a horizontal plane to permit the sewing mechanism to follow any desired pattern on the work, mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier in one direction independent of its pattern describing movement, mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier in another direction transverse to the first vibrating movements and independent of the pattern movement and devices by which the respective vibrating mechanisms may be thrown into and out of operation alternatively.

2. A sewing mechanism having in combination, a work carrier mounted for movement in any direction in a horizontal plane to permit the sewing mechanism to follow any desired pattern on the work, mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier in one direction independent of the pattern describing movement, mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier in another direction transverse to the first vibrating movements and independent of the pattern describing movement and devices by which both said vibrating mechanisms may be thrown into operation at the same time.

3. A sewing machine having in combination, a Work carrier, means for supporting the carrier for movement in any direction in a horizontal plane to permit the sewing mechanism to follow any desired pattern on the work, mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier in one direction independent of its pattern describing movement, mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier in another direction transverse to the first vibrating movements and independent of the pattern movement and devices by which both said vibrating mechanisms may be thrown into and out of operation alternatively or both may be thrown into operation at the same time.

4. A sewing mechanism having in combination, a work carrier mounted for movement in any di ection in a horizontal plane to permit the sewing mechanism to follow any desired pattern on the work, mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier in one direction independent of the pattern describing movement, and mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier independent of the pattern describing movements and in definite timed relation to the first vibrating movements.

5. A sewing mechanism having in combination, a work carrier mounted for movement in any direction in a horizontal plane to permit the sewing mechanism to follow any desired pattern on the work, mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier in one direction independent of the pattern describing movement, and mechanism for imparting relatively short horizontal vibrating movements to the carrier independent of the pattern describing movements and in definite timed relation to the first vibrating movements, one of said mechanism having provision for adjustment to vary said timed relation.

6. A sewing machine having in combination a Work carrier, means for supporting the carrier for movement in any direction in a horizontal plane, sewing mechanism, means for guiding the work carrier to cause the sewing mechanism to describe a predetermined pattern on the work and means other than said guiding mechanism f or imparting relatively short vibrations to the work carrier in directions transverse to the line of feed to cause the sewing mechanism to sew a wavelike seam.

7. A sewing machine having in combination a work carrier, means for supporting the carrier for movement in any direction in a horizontal plane, sewing mechanism, a pattern fixed to the work carrier for movement with the work, a fixed guide for engaging the pattern to guide the work carrier and cause the sewing mechanism to describe a predetermined pattern on the work and means other than said guiding mechanism for imparting relatively short vibrations to the work carrier in directions transverse to the line of feed to cause the sewing mechanism to sew a wavelike seam.

8. A sewing machine having in combination a sewing mechanism, a support mounted for linear movement, a second support mounted on the first for movement in a. line transverse to the line of movement of the first support, a work carrier mounted on the second support for vibrating movement relatively thereto, a pattern fixed to the second support, a guide for engaging the patternto guide the work carrier and cause the sewing mechanism to follow the pattern, and additional means for vibrating the carrier with relation to said second support in directions transverse to the movement of the work carrier as determined by said pattern to thereby cause the sewing mechanism to sew a wavelike seam.

9. A sewing machine having in combination a sewing mechanism, a support mounted for linear movement, a second support mounted on the first for movement in a line transverse to the line of movement of the first support, a work carrier mounted on the second support for movement relatively thereto in a horizontal plane, a pattern fixed to the second support, a guide for engaging the pattern to guide the work carrier and cause the sewing mechanism to follow the pattern, and additional means for vibrating the carrier with relation to said second support in directions transverse to the movement of the work carrier as determined by said pattern to thereby cause the sewing mechanism to sew a wavelike seam.

JUDSON L. MILLER. 

